


Babies

by bel_halliwell



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 02:39:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4417835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bel_halliwell/pseuds/bel_halliwell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I’m sorry, what did she just say our project was?” she asks. Because she thinks that her professor just announced to the class that they all needed to find a partner, get a fake baby, and take care of it for two weeks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Babies

Chloe sighs, propping her elbows on the kitchen counter and resting her head on her palms. She stares at her computer dejectedly.

“What’s up?” Beca asks as she enters the kitchen, immediately picking up on Chloe’s mood.

“Class schedules, that’s what’s up,” Chloe replies with a sigh. She watches as Beca pulls a carton of juice from the fridge, and accepts the glass that Beca pours first and offers her. “Thanks.”

“Sure,” Beca replies, filling another glass and replacing the juice in the fridge. “Now what’s wrong with your class schedule?”

“Well, you know how I decided to do the second major in education, right?” Chloe asks.

Beca nods.

“I didn’t realize, but I’m still short a few credits, and need to pick up one more class this semester,” Chloe tells her. “My advisor only just told me yesterday. However, since classes already started this week, there’s not much left in terms of room, or classes that will fit around the schedule I have right now.”

Beca nods again, and glances over Chloe’s shoulder to see the list of classes that Chloe was attempting to choose from. Her eyes scan the list, and stop on a familiar one.

“Hey, Developmental Psych is on here, why don’t you do that?” Beca asks. “I’m actually taking that too. I’m really only doing it because I needed a few more credits this year too and my Dad thinks I’ll enjoy it the most. But the professor who teaches it seems nice so far, and the course load isn’t particularly heavy. Just a couple essays and a partner project, whatever that is.”

“That would actually be really helpful if I do end up teaching,” Chloe says. “I considered it, but I figured I would get bored too fast.”

Beca shrugs. “Yeah, well I get bored in a lot of my classes. You could sit next to me though and we could play Tic Tac Toe to stay awake.”

Chloe grins, her mood immediately lifting. “You don’t mind me doing a class with you?”

“Dude, it’s not like you need my permission,” Beca tells her. “But I wouldn’t mind at all. I mean, you’re my best friend, why wouldn’t I want you there? Dork.”

Chloe grins wider, and clicks on the class to add it to her electronic schedule. “Awesome. Looks like I’m doing Developmental Psych, and then I’ll have enough credits to finish the year.”

Beca raises an eyebrow. “And you’ll actually seriously put some effort into Russian Lit, right? We’re all graduating this year, you need to graduate with us.”

“Trust me,” Chloe tells her, “Three years in that class with Professor Benson – I could pass with my eyes closed. But I’ll actually try this time, I swear.” She flashes a toothy grin at Beca, who shakes her head in response, a smile peeking out on her own lips.

_____________________________

Developmental Psych turns out to be a somewhat interesting class. Beca’s semi surprised to learn that she’s actually finding the course content interesting, and is sort of looking forward to learning more about how kids think. She’s definitely not the kind of person that many people associate being good with kids, but Beca’s always about surprising people.

“If the music producing ends up getting boring for you, now you have a back up plan!” Chloe tells her after Beca makes the mistake of sharing this thought after class one morning as they leave the lecture hall together.

Beca rolls her eyes, letting out a dry laugh. “Whoa there, Beale. I might find this class interesting, but that doesn’t mean I find actual children interesting. Let’s stick with you being the teacher, and I’ll just make fun mixes for you to play to your kids, right?”

Chloe grins, liking the idea that the two of them will still be spending time together in their careers outside of Barden.

“Besides, what makes you think that I’ll get bored of music producing?” Beca asks with a raised eyebrow. She frowns at Chloe, crossing her arms, but Chloe can see the corners of her mouth tugging up slightly.

“Okay, you’re right! There’s no chance you’ll get bored. Guess I’ll just have to manage the kids by myself, and resign myself to telling people that I’m friends with the famous Beca Mitchell.”

“That’s the idea,” Beca agrees. 

“How’s your internship going, anyway?” Chloe asks, slightly hesitant. She knows that Beca didn’t initially plan on telling her, but did after Chloe had asked her point blank where she’d been once they got home from hood night. Chloe respected why Beca hadn’t initially told her – she had been pretty insane dealing with the idea of the Bella’s being suspended, and the Worlds being their only hope – but she’s glad that Beca didn’t lie. 

“It’s going alright. My boss is kind of insane, but he definitely knows his shit,” Beca replies. “He’s working on a record with Snoop Dogg right now, and is trying to come up with ideas for it. It’s a good opportunity to try to show him what I can do, it’s just super stressful.”

Beca’s personally glad she told Chloe about the internship too. She hadn’t planned it, and honestly? If Chloe hadn’t straight up asked, she doubted she would have told her. But she’s glad she did tell her, because Chloe’s her best friend (not to mention the woman she’s secretly pining over), and she really didn’t give Chloe enough credit – sure, the woman was freaking out over the Bella’s, but she cared for Beca enough to respect what the internship could mean for her.

“Well, you’re amazing, so you’ll blow them away – and if it doesn’t happen right away, I know it will, because you’re that awesome. You’re aca-awesome!” Chloe tells her with a grin.

That’s another reason it was good to tell Chloe, Beca realizes. She’s definitely good for keeping her confidence up.  
They arrive at a coffee cart, stopping in front of it. Chloe orders two coffees, while Beca pulls a few crumpled bills from her pocket to pay.

It had become routine for them to have a quick breakfast in the Bella house together every Tuesday morning, before walking to class together, and then getting coffee after. Even Chloe had to admit, as much as she loved the Bella’s, it was nice spending time with Beca outside of the group where their focus wasn’t on a performance or creating a set.

The only downside, was that it was getting harder and harder to hide her feelings towards her best friend. Because honestly? She was completely in love with Beca Mitchell. She just couldn’t bring herself to say anything yet – she’d rather live with unrequited love, than risk losing her friendship with Beca. 

Little did she know, Beca was feeling the exact same things about her.

_____________________________

Beca stares, open mouthed, at the professor. She turns to Chloe slowly.

“I’m sorry, what did she just say our project was?” she asks. Because she thinks that her professor just announced to the class that they all needed to find a partner, get a fake baby, and take care of it for two weeks.

Chloe grins. “Beca, this will be fun! You have to be my partner for this. Please?”

Internally, Beca grins with happiness – more time with her best friend, who she just happened to harbor intense romantic feelings towards. Externally, she offers a smirk and a nod. “Of course I’ll be your partner,” Beca tells her, “I just need to warn you though, this is so not a project I’m going to enjoy. We don’t have time to take care of a fake baby! What does this even have to do with Developmental Psych?”

“We’re supposed to learn how to apply what we’ve learned about infant development,” Chloe responds, watching the professor who’s gesturing to a pile of zipped up cases off to the side.

“Right, everyone, these are the babies you’ll be using,” Professor Harding explains. “There is some important information you need to know, in order to pass. They each have a tracker in them that monitors how much they’re held, how they’re treated, and all audio spoken while the baby is held is recorded – so if you’re the type of person who drops the F-bomb repeatedly, you’ll need to clean up your language if you’re hoping for an A on this project!” She grins good naturedly at the smattering of nervous chuckles around the room. “What is said, as well as the tone of voice used close to the baby is also monitored, so be aware of that as well. Essentially, treat this as a real child, and you should be fine.”

Beca groans, and shakes her head. “I had to use one of these dolls when I was thirteen and my Mom forced me to take a babysitter’s course. The doll definitely wasn’t this fancy, but it cried, like, all the time, and I had to carry it around to classes and everything.”

“I did the same course,” Chloe responds. “So at least we’ve had some practice, it’ll be easy.”

“Yeah, well something tells me that nothing about this project is going to be easy,” Beca replies.

“Alright, that’s it for class today – once you’ve packed up and found a partner, come and choose a baby and sign it out. You’ll be returning it in exactly two weeks in class, and the project presentations will come the week after,” Professor Harding announced.

“We have to do a presentation about caring for a baby?” Beca asks incredulously to Chloe as they stand up and move down the aisle towards the professor. “This is the last time I listen to my Dad about what classes I should do.”

“Oh come on Becs, you already admitted you’re enjoying the class,” Chloe says. “Trust me, this project will be a breeze.” They reach the professor, and Beca leans down to sign their names on a list.

“Here, ladies,” Professor Harding says as she unzips one of the cases and pulls out an extremely realistic looking baby. “This is your baby, treat it well.” She hands the baby to Chloe, then reaches down to bring up a carrier and what looks like a diaper bag. “Here is a car carrier, it will safely strap into a car, or can be carried around. Your baby may sleep in it as well. The bag also has the extra things you’ll need, like the simulation bottles, diapers, all that. Be aware that there are sensors built in to monitor how frequently the diaper is changed, when it’s spoken to, that kind of thing. Have fun!”

Beca’s eyebrows raise at the professor’s peppy tone, but keeps silent as she accepts the bag of supplies. She follows Chloe outside, and lets out a sigh. 

“Alright. So how are we doing this thing?” Beca asks as they make their way towards the coffee cart. 

“Well, it should be pretty easy since we live together, and we’re in the Bella’s together,” Chloe points out. “We’ll just trade off in our other classes, I’ll take her when you’re at your internship, and it’ll work out at home. I’ll even take her for the rest of the afternoon until the Bella’s rehearsal.”

“Her?” Beca asks, raising an eyebrow.

Chloe grins. “Well, we can’t call the baby ‘it’ for the next two weeks. And it looks like a girl. Want to pick out a name?”

Beca shakes her head. “I’ll leave that to you to come up with.” They reach the cart and Beca orders their coffees, while Chloe looks curiously at the baby. 

“Well, I liked the name Emily, but that’d be kind of weird since Legacy joined the Bella’s,” Chloe says thoughtfully. “How about we go with Hailey?”

Beca shrugs. “Sounds fine,” she says, as she accepts the coffees from the man at the cart, thanking him with a nod of her head. “Well, you can’t hold a baby and drink hot coffee too, let’s go find somewhere to sit.”

They find a nice grassy space, and Chloe settles the baby into the carrier. They sit and sip their coffees, chatting about the upcoming Bella’s rehearsal later that day.

Not even five minutes later, the baby began to cry. Beca, being closer, automatically reached over, plucked the baby from the carrier, and nestled her against her chest.

Chloe’s eyes widened. “Wow,” she says, “You’re a natural.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just say that I was the best baby sitter in my neighbourhood in middle school,” Beca replies with a wink. “However, I have no idea how to make this particular baby stop crying.”

“I think we just need to figure out what it needs,” Chloe says, digging through the diaper bag and putting out a small, empty bottle. She hands it to Beca, who props the baby with her head resting on the crook of her elbow, and presses the nipple of the bottle to the baby’s mouth.

Instantly, the crying stops, and Beca grins. “That was easy,” she says.

“Yeah, wait til it’s four in the morning and a bottle doesn’t work – won’t be so easy then,” Chloe responds, then chuckles at Beca’s surprised expression. “What? I had a lot of little cousins that I had to babysit for.”

Beca starts to pull the bottle away, but hastily replaces it at the baby’s mouth when the crying starts again. She watches Chloe dig through the diaper bag and pull out a small booklet. “What’s that?”

“I think it’s an instruction manual?” Chloe says after examining the cover. “Because babies always come with those.” She laughs dryly at her own joke and starts flicking through the pages. “Wow, it says in here that the babies have sensors in their plastic skin so how much they are held can be measured. It sounds like this project is going to be a little more intense if we want to pass.”

“What, like we need to hold it all the time?” Beca asks.

“Well, if the goal of the assignment is to apply what we’ve learned about infant development, then I guess Professor Harding will be monitoring that stuff as well. And I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely aiming for an A in this class,” Chloe tells her.

Beca nods, and glances down at the baby in her arms. “Well, Hailey, looks like you’re going to be more of a handful than we’d planned on.”

_____________________________

When Chloe arrives at the Bella’s rehearsal space, she sees Beca already there, laptop set up, listening to a track through her headphones. As soon as Beca sees Chloe, she taps a key on the laptop and pulls the headphones down.

“Working on the set, or something else?” Chloe asks her tentatively. She knows how anxious Beca’s been about her internship – Beca almost didn’t tell her about it, but eventually did after hood night, when they were both a little tipsy and curled up on the couch together afterwards – and although Chloe’s internally freaking out about Worlds already, she doesn’t want to push that stress onto Beca and lose any trust.

“The set. It’s not finished, I’m still missing a song, but it’s getting there. I want it to be perfect, I want to make sure it’s up to DSM’s level,” Beca explains. “Here, listen to what I have so far,” she says, getting up and reaching out to take Hailey. Chloe carefully passes the baby over, and takes Beca’s spot. She listens to the track through the headphones, nodding along, and flashes Beca a grin at the end.

“I see what you mean, about needing another song in there, but I really like it right now,” Chloe tells her as she gets up, slipping the cups off her ears and setting them down. “Definitely nothing like we’ve performed before, but whatever it takes to get to the next level, right?”

“Right,” Beca echoes, and they share a smile. Before they can continue their conversation, the auditorium doors open and the Bella’s start coming in.

“Um, excuse me Beca, since when did you have a baby?” Stacie asks, stopping short as she stares at Beca. The rest of the Bella’s notice immediately as well, and start whispering to themselves.

“Here, I’ll take her, you explain it to the girls,” Chloe tells Beca, reaching out. “I’ll have to change her diaper before we start anyway.”

Beca nods and passes the baby over, then turns to the Bella’s. Before she can say anything, Amy grins.

“Oh my god, do you and Chloe have a Bloe baby?” she exclaims. “You know, Beca and Chloe – together they’re Bloe,” she explains at the looks everyone gives her.

“I think Bechloe has a nicer ring to it, personally,” Ashley says, and several of the girls nod.

“First of all, please never refer to us as Bloe again,” Beca says, “And secondly, the baby’s name is Hailey, and she’s not real. She’s a project for our Developmental Psych class. The baby has sensors and tracking devices and stuff, so the professor can monitor how the baby is treated, how much it’s held, all that stuff.”

“That sounds like an awesome project!” Emily exclaims, and Stacie shudders.

“Ugh. Taking care of a baby while at college? No thanks,” she adds.

“So for the next three weeks, Chloe and I will be taking care of this baby, and we’ll try our best not to let it affect Bella’s rehearsals, or life at home,” Beca tells them, as Chloe walks up holding a freshly diapered Hailey.

“Also, the sensors do record swearing said close by the baby, and we really need to get a good grade on this project, so if you’re going to be around the baby at all, please keep it clean ladies, okay?” Chloe asks, looking at Stacie and Amy in particular. They smirk, but nod.

“Alright Becs, want to keep working on the set? I’ll start running through cardio and voice drills with the girls,” Chloe says, turning to Beca and handing Hailey over to her. Beca carefully takes the baby, nods, and heads over to her laptop, settling herself so she’s holding the baby in one arm and has her other hand free to use her computer. “Right girls,” Chloe says, turning to the group again, “cardio time. Let’s go!”

_____________________________

Beca’s eyes snap open, and it takes her a couple seconds to realise that the baby is crying from the carrier next to her bed. She groans, glancing at the clock by her bed and seeing that it’s barely after 3am.

“Oh hell no,” Amy moans as Beca gets up and picks the baby up. “No way can I deal with this for the next three weeks, there’s a reason I practice safe sex.”

“I’m sorry, Amy, I just need to give her a bottle and she’ll stop crying,” Beca apologizes, using one hand to dig through the diaper bag.

“Yeah, but that’s what you said at eleven when she started crying, and she’ll probably cry again before sunrise,” Amy says. “You realize Chloe has no roommate, right? I think you need to become her roommate for the next three weeks, and take the baby with you. We’ve all seen the two of you share a bed a million times, so it’s not like this will make a difference or anything. Come on, Beca, please. I need my beauty sleep.”

Beca shakes her head, sighing. “I can’t believe you’re kicking me out of my own room,” she grumbles, as the baby stops crying due to the bottle Beca’s finally gotten to her mouth. She sits on the bed for fifteen minutes holding the bottle to the baby’s mouth, tosses it back into the diaper bag, and scoops the bag and carrier up with her free arm.

“Love you Beca, but definitely won’t miss you,” Amy calls out as Beca leaves the room.

“Yeah, whatever,” Beca mutters, and heads to the end of the hall to Chloe’s closed door. She carefully opens it, taking care not to drop the baby, and uses her foot to close it once she’s inside. There’s enough moonlight to see where she’s going, so she heads towards Chloe’s bed, puts the carrier and diaper bag down, and lowers the baby into the carrier. She then turns to see Chloe, peaceful and dreaming away in bed, and quietly slips in next to her.

Before she even closes her eyes, she feels an arm snake around her waist and a warm body spoon up against her back. “Becs?” Chloe’s sleepy voice whispers.

“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I woke you. Amy kicked me out because the baby was crying, do you mind sharing a bed for a few weeks?” Beca whispers. She knows Chloe won’t mind, because they’re best friends, and like Amy had said, they have shared a bed a bunch of times – usually when Amy’s brought over a male friend, or when it’s storming and Chloe insists on not being alone, or late nights talking that end up with them falling asleep before they can be bothered to go back to their own room. 

“Of course I don’t mind,” Chloe whispers back. She tangles their legs together, closes her eyes, and is asleep almost instantly.

Beca smiles softly, bringing a hand to cover Chloe’s, and closes her eyes. 

_____________________________

Slowly, over the next several days, they develop a routine for taking care of the baby, as well as their other responsibilities. Chloe slips out of bed early every morning to go running, and by the time she makes it back home, Beca’s done the first feeding and diaper change of the morning, and is in the kitchen sipping coffee, another cup waiting for Chloe.

Beca takes care of the baby during as many classes as she can, to even out the long periods when she’s at her internship and Chloe cares for the baby. Once they arrive back at home, they gravitate towards each other and spend the rest of the afternoon and evening together. They’re definitely learning more about each other, as well as being able to do more together while having to say less.

“Oh my god, you two are just so domestic together now,” Stacie says later that week, as she walks into the Bella’s lounge room to find Chloe and Beca curled up on the couch, the baby nestled between them.

“Yeah, whatever,” Beca replies. She eyes Stacie. “Heading out for the night?”

“Cynth, Amy, Lil, Flo, Ash, Jess and I are headed to the new bar in town,” Stacie tells them as she rifles through her clutch to pull out her phone. “We’re heading out soon, you guys want to join us?”

“Can’t – no babysitter,” Beca says, nose wrinkling. She turns slightly towards Chloe. “You can go, though, I’ll hang here and take care of the baby, you should go out and have fun.”

Chloe shakes her head. “Nah, I’m happy here with you tonight. Thanks for the offer though Stace, have fun! And be safe!”

“I’m always safe,” Stacie replies with a scoff. “Trust me, I’m not getting myself in your ‘baby’ situation anytime soon.”

Beca sticks her tongue out at the girl, who simply smirks. Beca then turns her head back to Chloe, while Stacie busies herself checking Facebook.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go out?” Beca asks her in a low voice.

“Nah, really, I’m fine here tonight,” Chloe replies. “Why, do you want to go? Oh Becs, you should, you’ll have fun!”

Beca wrinkles her nose. “Last time I got stuck going out with the girls and you couldn’t come, Stacie and Amy gave my number out to a bunch of guys and I was stuck deleting texts for days. Besides, I have more fun with you, I’d rather stay in with you tonight.”

Chloe grins at this, and her eyes meet Beca’s. They share a moment, which extends into something more. Neither of them dare to look away, and there’s hope, and the air feels electrical, and Chloe licks her lips, and Beca’s eyes dart down to watch, and Chloe starts to lean in, and Beca’s leaning in too, eyes still on Chloe’s lips, and-

“What are you guys watching, anyway?” Stacie asks, eyes still on her phone.

“Friends re-runs on Netflix,” Chloe replies, immediately pulling away, the moment gone. She turns her attention back to the TV, but can still feel the electricity in the air. She wonders if Beca can hear how fast her heart is beating.

“I’d rather be watching Orange is the New Black, but apparently that show isn’t child appropriate,” Beca says as she nods at the baby nestled between her and Chloe.

“Oh come on Becs, there’s no chance we can watch that right now,” Chloe says. “Remember how Professor Harding says the baby’s trackers record any swearing said near the baby? That recording would be flashing like a traffic light, with the amount of swearing on that show.”

Beca sighs. “I know, you’re right.”

Chloe grins. “Glad you’re finally acknowledging that.”

Stacie starts chuckling, as the rest of the Bella’s come clattering down the stairs. “Oh my god, you guys are such a married couple, just without the sex. Enjoy your night in, we’ll see you tomorrow!”

“Bye guys!” the rest of the Bella’s call, as they make their way out the front door.

Beca and Chloe wave after them, and the second the door closes, Chloe turns to face Beca.

“What the hell just happened?” she asks, eyes wide.

“Do you mean with Stacie, or…” Beca trails off, unsure of what to say.

“I mean before, when I almost kissed you,” Chloe replies. “Because it seemed like you were leaning in too, and you were totally going to let me kiss you.”

“Uh, maybe?” Beca says meekly. 

“Okay, because I felt like there was definitely something between us, and I definitely think I was going to kiss you – which I totally would rather not do for the first time in front of Stacie, mind you – and I feel like I have very mixed signals right now,” Chloe says in a rush. She catches Beca’s eyes. “Beca, you like me, right?”

Beca swallows. “Yes,” she replies. She clears her throat. “Yes,” she says again, and leans forward to press a short kiss against Chloe’s lips.

Chloe’s momentarily stunned, then starts kissing back. They break apart after a few moments, and share a smile.

“So, do you want us, to like, be a thing, or something?” Beca asks, and gives herself a mental slap. “Ugh, that came out weird. I mean, do you, uh, should we-”

“Yes,” Chloe replies simply, and presses another short kiss to Beca’s lips. She then turns back to the TV, resting her head on Beca’s shoulder and an arm around the baby, and smiles.

They spend several hours binge watching Friends, with two interruptions of the baby needing a bottle and a diaper change. After they’ve each let out a couple yawns, they decide to go to bed and keep watching from Chloe’s TV, so if they fall asleep while watching, they’re at least comfortable.

Chloe settles the baby in the carrier while Beca turns Netflix on and clicks into Friends. They get into bed, but Chloe props her head up with a hand, watching Beca.

“So, are you sure?” Chloe asks.

Beca raises her eyebrows. “Did I do something in the past few hours to make you think otherwise?”

“No, I’m just making sure, giving you an out if you need it,” Chloe tells her. “I mean, I don’t think you’ve dated anyone in the past year since you broke up with Jesse, and I didn’t even know you were into girls-”

“I’m bisexual,” Beca interrupts.

Chloe smiles. “So am I. So that’s good, then. I don’t want to scare you away, I just feel like I should tell you that I’ve had some pretty intense feelings for you ever since we sang in the shower together, but I can be your friend if that’s what you’d prefer.”

“Chloe, stop,” Beca interrupts again. “I would prefer to be more than friends with you. I can’t say that I’ve had romantic feelings for you for that long – although looking back, I definitely had some feelings for you ever since the shower too, I just wasn’t out to myself at that point, so I didn’t really understand what I was feeling, and Jesse was a good cover for a while. But us, tonight, you – I like where things are headed, and I want to keep it like that.”

Chloe’s smile grows into a grin, and she presses a light kiss on Beca’s cheek. “Good. We’ll just be us, and see where things go. My only request then,” she says, “is if we can maybe not tell the Bella’s immediately?”

“Oh god, I’m definitely more than fine with that,” Beca replies. “Did I tell you that Amy referred to us as ‘Bloe’ the other day?”

Chloe let out a snort of laughter. “Of course Amy would come up with something like that.”

Beca smirks, shaking her head. “Yeah, it was her reaction to finding out about us having Hailey for Developmental Psych.” 

Chloe glances down at the still baby in the carrier. “Who knew that an assignment like this could lead to this happening?”

“Definitely not me, but if doing assignments result in us kissing, then I think I’d find writing essays a whole lot easier,” Beca replies with a wink.

Chloe chuckles, reaches her head down to press a kiss against Beca’s lips, and rests her head on Beca’s shoulder. They both turn their attention to the TV, feeling content and happy with how things are working out.

_____________________________

The next week runs quite smoothly, albeit slightly chaotic. Between classes, Bella’s rehearsals, Beca’s internship, and taking care of Hailey, there’s little free time for Chloe and Beca to spend together. They’re left with mornings before classes, and evenings when they curl up in Chloe’s bed, the baby in the carrier beside them.

“Can you believe we’re halfway through this project?” Beca asks one evening as they lay in the dark, Chloe’s fingers tracing patterns on Beca’s arms while Beca’s fingers trail through Chloe’s hair.

“I know, and it’s starting to feel easy. We’ve got a rhythm going, I like it,” Chloe replies. “Remember yesterday morning in class when one of the girls had a breakdown?”

“Oh yeah,” Beca says, the memory coming to her. After the professor asked them how they were all doing with the assignment, one of the girls broke down in to tears, claiming her boyfriend was threatening to break up with her because it was interfering with their sex life. “Honestly, if her boyfriend does break up with her, she’d be better off, he sounds like a douche.”

“Beca, language,” Chloe warns, a smile playing on her lips.

“Come on, the baby’s asleep,” Beca says in defence, but a matching smile shows she’s not really bothered.

“Yeah, well, if we lose marks because of foul language, then I’m blaming you,” Chloe says. “Why do you think I refused to let Amy ‘babysit’ for us last night?”

Beca nods in agreement. “She’d totally find it funny to whisper random stuff just so the professor would hear it.”

Chloe smiles, and they lapse into comfortable silence for a few moments.

“You know, though,” Beca says thoughtfully, “We could always find a babysitter, like one of the Bella’s, to take Hailey for a night, and we could go out on a real date together.”

Chloe’s eyes widen at the thought. “A date? That sounds great. I’ll ask around tomorrow to see if one of the girls would mind. Well, anyone but Amy. I’d rather put our date on hold for a couple more weeks than risk our grades with Amy.”

Beca grins.

_____________________________

“Okay, so Ash, you’re sure you don’t mind watching Hailey tonight?” Chloe asks, as she finishes changing the baby’s diaper.

“Not at all. I’m literally staying in and finishing my essay, since it’s due in two days and I’ve barely finished the draft,” Ashley replies. “Seriously, Chloe, it’ll be fine. I know how important this is to your and Beca’s grades, I’ll be extra careful.”

“Thanks,” Chloe replies. “Seriously, I’m really grateful. I’ve been stressing so much about Worlds, and Beca’s got her plate full too, so just a chance to have a few hours out of the house and to just eat dinner and hang out, it’s going to be awesome.”

Ashley smiles, and Chloe can’t help but wonder that Ashley seems to know more than she’s letting on. Before Chloe can say anything else, Beca comes down the stairs.

“Ready, Chlo?” Beca asks. “Thanks, Ash. I’m so excited to have a baby free night right now.”

“Anytime!” Ashley replies cheerfully. “Go on, get out of here, both of you. We’ll be fine!”

“Okay. Bye Ash, bye Hailey!” Chloe calls, as Beca tugs her towards the door. They finally get outside, and start walking into town. 

As soon as they’re out of sight of the Bella house, Beca reaches her hand over and laces her fingers in Chloe’s. “Do you think any of the girls have realized we’re a couple yet?” Beca asks.

“I think Ashley suspects, judging by the smile she gave me,” Chloe says. “But she’s too nice to say anything until we say it first. But none of the other girls have really said anything.”

“True. And I guess it’s helped that we’ve been so swamped with rehearsals and classes that they haven’t really had a chance to see us together much,” Beca adds.

Chloe nods, and they continue walking in comfortable silence towards a small restaurant tucked away off the main street. They’ve both been there before, with the rest of the Bella’s, and loved it, so they’d decided together that it would be a nice place for a first date.

The couple of hours that they’re at the restaurant seem to fly by. Not once do they run out of conversation, and Beca’s slightly wondrous at how completely comfortable she feels, being with Chloe in such a romantic setting, and knowing that they are together.

After they pay the check, Chloe pulls her cell phone out of her clutch. “Maybe we can go for a couple drinks?” she asks Beca, who nods. “I just want to check in with Ashley first.”

Beca grins, but keeps quiet while Chloe dials and chats to Ashley. After a couple minutes, Chloe gestures Beca closer to the phone, and presses the speaker button. “Say goodnight to Hailey with me,” she tells Beca in a low voice.

“Seriously?” Beca asks.

“Yes, seriously. Don’t forget, Professor Harding is going to know that Ashley’s babysitting through the audio recording. This could score us extra points.”

Beca can see the logic in this, and is beyond grateful that it’s Ashley on the other end of the phone and not Cynthia Rose or Amy who’d give them crap for doing this.

“Okay, I’m holding her and it’s on speaker now,” Ashley’s voice comes through the speaker.

Beca glances at Chloe. “Goodnight Hailey, sweet dreams,” Beca says hesitantly. 

“Goodnight Hailey, your mommies miss you!” Chloe adds, shooting Beca a wink. Beca gulps.

Chloe takes the phone off speaker, finishes the call with Ashley, and hangs up.

“I can’t believe we just said goodnight to a baby mannequin over the phone,” Beca groans, shaking her head. “I just lost so many badass points.”

Chloe smirks. “Yeah, but if you get those points back in the form of an A, you’ll be thanking me.”

“You’re going to make an awesome mom one day,” Beca says, coloring immediately. “I mean, I’m not saying that you have to be, or that we’re having kids together one day – we’ve barely been dating a week – I just mean that-”

Chloe chuckles. “It’s okay, Becs, I get what you mean. Thanks. I think you’ll make an awesome mom too one day. Come on now, I’m craving a cocktail.”

_____________________________

After a couple of drinks in one of the town bars, Chloe and Beca make their way back home to the Bella house. They’re hardly tipsy, but definitely enjoyed spending some time together at the bar where they could sit close together and share stories and light touches, and have no one bat an eye at them.

They enter the Bella house around eleven, and don’t see anyone in the lounge room. Beca quietly presses the door closed. “Thanks for a great night, Chloe,” she whispers.

“No, thank you, Beca. We should do this more often,” Chloe replies, and presses a soft kiss to Beca’s lips. Beca kisses back, lightly tracing Chloe’s lower lip with her tongue, and it’s all Chloe can do to stop herself from moaning out loud. “We can take this upstairs, I think,” she tells Beca with a wink. “First, we need to get Hailey, so Ashley isn’t stuck with the 2am feeding.”

They creep upstairs, unaware of Stacie, Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose who were watching them from the dark kitchen, eyes wide and mouths open.

Beca taps gently on Ashley’s door, which swings open. 

“Hey guys,” Ashley says with a smile. “You’re back earlier than I expected. I’m still working on my essay. But Hailey was easy all night.”

“Thanks Ash, we owe you a million,” Chloe says brightly, and picks the carrier up.

They trade goodnights, then Chloe and Beca head down the hall to Chloe’s bedroom. Chloe places the carrier down by the window, then climbs onto her bed. Beca follows, and they spend several long minutes, or maybe hours, kissing and cuddling, before drifting off to sleep in each other’s arms.

_____________________________

“Oh my god. Hailey’s been kidnapped!”

Beca blearily opens her eyes, to see Chloe standing in the middle of the room. She vaguely realizes that they both fell asleep in their clothes from last night, before Chloe’s words register in her mind. “Wait, what?”

“Hailey’s gone. The carrier’s empty. Shit, Beca, what do we do?” Chloe asks, wringing her hands.

Beca swings her feet over the bed and pulls herself up, rubbing her eyes. “Maybe one of the girls came in and took her. They’d have to, trust me, no one else wants to get a crying baby mannequin. So let’s go downstairs and see if any of them have her.”

Chloe nods, and makes her way into the hall and downstairs, Beca close on her heels. They make their way into the kitchen, where they see Stacie and Cynthia Rose sitting at the table. Cynthia Rose has Hailey in her arms, holding a bottle to her mouth.

“Oh my god, there she is. What were you guys thinking, taking her?” Chloe asks as she hurries over to make sure that Hailey is in fact fine.

“Good morning, lovebirds. Sorry to scare you. We just figured after your date last night, you’d like the chance to sleep in as well,” Stacie says cheerfully, plucking an apple from the fruit bowl.

“I’m sorry, what?” Beca asks, unsure if she just heard right.

Cynthia Rose rolls her eyes. “Oh come on, you two, we know you’re together. You’re not the best when it comes to hiding things, and we also saw you both making out when you got home last night.”

Beca gapes at her.

“Okay, fine, you caught us,” Chloe says. “Yes, Beca and I are dating. Yes, last night was our first date. Yes, we were trying to keep it on the down low. But we just don’t want to screw this up, okay? So if you both don’t mind, we really don’t want to make a big deal out of it.”

“You got it, boss,” Cynthia Rose says, while Stacie mimics locking her lips and throwing away the key.

“What time did you guys sneak in and take her?” Beca asks, as Cynthia Rose pulls the bottle away. Beca reaches down to pick Hailey up, nestling her against her chest. “I don’t remember waking up for her 2am feed.”

“Yeah, it was just after one this morning,” Stacie answers. “You guys were out like a light – fortunately.”

Chloe shakes her head, but can’t stop the smile on her face. “Well thanks, guys, we do actually appreciate it. It’s only been a week and a half since we got her, and already the broken sleep is exhausting me.”

Beca nods in agreement. “Yeah. It’s not that bad taking care of a baby, but man, I think I’ll be ready for a drink once the project ends.”

“Which reminds me, we really need to get started on that presentation, since we have to present them a week after we hand Hailey back in,” Chloe points out.

“Right, but that means we still have, like, two and a half weeks to do that. I’m surprisingly good at getting things done well at the last minute,” Beca says to Chloe, but shrinks slightly at Chloe’s half glare. “I’m totally kidding. Like you’d agree to that. Fine, we may as well go start now, there’s still a few hours til Bella’s rehearsal.”

Cynthia Rose groans. “Damn, I forgot we have rehearsal today. I had a Skype call planned with a special lady friend.”

“Sorry Cynth, but considering how the school year’s already going, Worlds will be here before we know it. We can’t lose our focus. Rehearsal will be great!” Chloe tells her brightly.

“Yeah, sure. I better go call her and cancel,” Cynthia Rose says, and heads out the kitchen.

“Right. Presentation. Let’s go to my room,” Chloe says to Beca, who nods glumly and trails behind Chloe as they head out of the kitchen and upstairs.

They manage a fairly productive couple hours getting the draft of their presentation worked out. Despite getting a full night’s sleep, Beca keeps having to stifle yawns. It doesn’t help to then have a three hour Bella’s rehearsal, where Chloe manages to keep them all motivated through several sets of cardio, voice training, and choreography.

“I’m wiped,” Beca tells Chloe as she packs her laptop up.

“Tell me about it,” Chloe replies, reaching down to pick Hailey up. “I’m thinking home, shower, dinner, bed.”

“I definitely won’t complain if Hailey gets ‘kidnapped’ again,” Beca says with a smirk. She bends down to pick up the empty baby carrier, looping her arm through the handle.

“Shh, not around the baby!” Chloe admonishes, but she’s chuckling and nods in agreement. They turn and start trailing after the rest of the Bella’s, already ahead of them walking to the Bella house. Chloe shuffles Hailey in her arms, to hold her with one arm, freeing up her other arm to lace her fingers through Beca’s. Beca shoots her a smile.

“This is nice,” Beca says, nodding at their hands.

Chloe grins. “I know,” she replies as she gives Beca’s hand a light squeeze. They fall into a comfortable silence, swinging their hands lightly as they walked, minds lost in thoughts of Worlds, music, and each other.

When they finally reach the Bella house, the rest of the girls are already inside. As soon as they step over the threshold, Beca narrows her eyes at Stacie and Fat Amy, both of which who have draped themselves over the couch and were looking slightly suspicious.

“What did you guys do?” Beca asks them, unsure if she honestly wants to know.

“Oh, nothing,” Stacie replies innocently, bringing a hand up to inspect her cuticles.

Beca considers questioning them further, but Chloe’s tugging on her arm, and the thoughts of a hot shower and snuggling up to Chloe in bed are too hard to resist. She lets Chloe lead her upstairs, and by the time she’s showered and her head is pillowed on Chloe’s chest as her fingers slip under Chloe’s shirt to trail along the smooth skin of her stomach, the thought of the girls downstairs are long gone.

_____________________________

“I can’t believe we have to give Hailey back today,” Chloe says softly, watching Beca cradle the baby to her chest.

“I know,” Beca replies. “The past few weeks went by so fast.”

Chloe lets her mind drift over the past few weeks, from getting the baby, to getting together with Beca, to falling asleep in each other’s arms every night. Even though the past week was only spent going to classes, going to rehearsals, taking care of Hailey, and trying to relax at home, it seemed to fly by the fastest.

“Is it weird that I think I’m actually going to miss having her around?” Chloe asks, as she stirs her coffee aimlessly.

Beca shakes her head. “No, I kinda feel the same. Like, I definitely won’t miss the broken sleep and the looks I’ve been getting in my other classes when I have her. But it wasn’t as bad as I thought. Plus, you’re such a natural with her, I kinda liked watching you.”

Chloe grins, as Beca groans. “Sorry,” Beca says, “I totally sound like a stalker now.”

“No, it was sweet,” Chloe tells her, and leans over the table to place a soft kiss on Beca’s lips. “I’ve liked watching you with her too. You’ll make a great mom.”

Beca tries to hide her smile, and busies herself with swallowing the last of her coffee. “Hey, we need to get going, class will start soon,” she says, and starts to get up.

Chloe picks up their empty coffee mugs and rinses them out in the sink, then comes around to collect the carrier and diaper bag. They head out of the house together, and Chloe laces her fingers through Beca’s as they walk. They’ve been holding hands a lot over the past week, however have almost reached a point already where they’re taking each other’s hands automatically without thinking about it.

Once they reach the class, they settle in their usual seats, and Beca passes the baby over to Chloe to hold. She glances around, and notices many mixed expressions on the faces of her classmates – some appear excited, some appear relieved, one or two others sad.

“Alright everyone, you’ve finally made it to the end!” Professor Harding calls out as she enters the room. “Your baby project has finally reached the end – aside from your presentations next week, of course. If you can all come up, one pair at a time, and return your baby and accessories, I’d appreciate it.

Chloe smiles at Beca wistfully, and they stand up and head to the front of the room. After a few minutes, they make it to the front of the line, and Chloe carefully hands Hailey over to the professor’s waiting arms. “Thank you, ladies,” Professor Harding tells them as she zips the baby inside its case. “How did you find the project?”

The girls share a quick glance, smiling. “Enlightening,” Beca says after a moment’s pause. They turn back to their seats and settle back down, watching the remaining students turn their babies in.

Once the babies are collected, Professor Harding spends the remainder of the class having an open discussion about infant development, and discussing their presentations they had to do next week. 

Once class lets out, Chloe and Beca head outside together, fingers laced, making their way towards the coffee cart and placing their usual order. 

“I feel a little strange, not having a baby or a carrier in my arms right now,” Beca admits, taking her coffee from the attendant and wrapping her fingers around the cup.

“I know what you mean,” Chloe replies, taking her own cup. They slowly wander away, and find an empty bench to sit at. “Like, obviously, I’m not interested in having a baby anytime soon. But it’s going to be an adjustment, I think.”

Beca nods as she takes a slow, careful sip of the hot liquid. “Since we don’t have Hailey anymore, I guess that means I should also move back into my bedroom with Amy,” she says, her voice laced with a touch of disappointment.

“It’s funny, actually,” Chloe tells her. “We’ve been friends for so long – best friends – and then having to take care of a baby, we got to skip that awkward getting to know you stage of dating. I feel like we’ve been together months, not only two weeks.”

“I feel the same,” Beca says. “The thing that sucks about that though, is that it means that I’ve only actually gotten two weeks of kissing out of you, instead of several months worth.”

Chloe grins, and leans forward to press a kiss on Beca’s lips. They linger for a moment, before pulling away. “Well,” Chloe says slowly, “when people have been dating for months, it’s common to be sharing a bed together. So, if you ever feel like sharing my bed again, I’d be more than okay with it.”

“I definitely think I’ll take you up on that offer,” Beca tells her, grinning also. “Maybe we might even start getting enough sleep so that we start having energy to do more than just sleep some nights.”

She winks at Chloe suggestively, who bites her lip slightly. “Can’t say I haven’t thought about that at all the past couple weeks,” she murmurs in a low voice, causing Beca to blush lightly and bite her own lip.

“Alright, on that note, we need to get going,” Beca says. “I’ve got my next class soon, and you wanted to go to the library, right?”

Chloe smirks, nodding, and they stand, hands slipping together as they start making their way across campus.

_____________________________

“So, you all did a great job with your presentations, and I’ve finally finished running through the data I pulled from your infants,” Professor Harding announces in class several weeks later. “I can successfully say now that everyone passed, although there was only one pair who got an A. Some of you still need to work on cleaning out your language around kids!”

Some of the students chuckled.

Chloe breathes a sigh of relief, turning to Beca. “See, I bet you’re glad now you cut down on the swearing,” she says with a wink.

Beca nods. She’s just glad to hear they passed.

Professor Harding places a paper on their desk, face side down, as she moves past their desk. “Nice job, ladies,” she says with a slight wink.

Chloe grins, and flips the paper over. There’s a bright red A at the top of their page. 

“Awesome,” Beca says, scanning the page. There’s some statistical information included about the baby’s data, and then a section for additional comments from the professor. “Well done, Chloe and Beca,” she reads in a low voice. Chloe rests her chin on Beca’s shoulder so she can follow along. “I was really impressed with both your presentation, and the data pulled from ‘Hailey’. You both really applied the dynamics of infant psychological development, and it’s clear to see that you put a lot of effort into the whole project. I also want to congratulate you both, and wish you the best of luck together, and in the future.”

Chloe moves her head to grin at Beca. “You know what she means by that last part, right?” she asks.

Beca raises an eyebrow.

“She’s basically congratulating us for being a couple, and wishing us all the best. We were holding Hailey when we got together,” Chloe explains. 

Beca’s eyes widen, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “Awesome,” she says, a touch of sarcasm in her voice. “That’ll be a story to tell the grandkids one day, their teacher second hand witnessed them getting together!”

Chloe grins, and leans slightly closer. “At least we hadn’t had sex yet,” she whispers, and chuckles slightly at Beca’s blush.

“I like the sound of that _yet_ , Beale,” Beca drawls back, trying to cover up. She then tenses slightly. “Shit. I totally just said we’ll have grandkids one day. Wow, that was presumptuous of me.”

“I noticed you said that,” Chloe tells her, and slips a hand to rest on Beca’s thigh, squeezing softly. “But I actually liked it. Obviously we’re not having kids of our own, or moving into each other’s bedroom together permanently or anything anytime soon, but honestly? I’ve had such strong feelings for you for three years. Now that I have you, I definitely don’t plan on letting you go.”

Beca shares a soft smile with her. “I’m glad to hear that, because I’m not letting you go either.”

They share a short, quick kiss (being very conscious that they’re in the middle of a classroom), and turn back to the front of the room. The professor catches Chloe’s eye and shoot her a quick smile, and Chloe grins back.

 

Fin.


End file.
